Cori Salchert with a portion of the bears being donated following the death of her adoptive son Samuel. Around 500 bears have been sent to the Salcherts so far in T Bear's memory.(Photo: Charity Salchert)

SHEBOYGAN - As Cori Salchert sat down to talk about her beloved son Samuel, who passed away last week, she was surrounded by more than 200 teddy bears. When she spoke of the beautiful boy of 15 who took his final breaths at 4 p.m. last Tuesday, she held a small gray bear in her lap to ease her pain.

Throughout her description of his kind smile and his journey of resilience, the pile of bears she was cuddling grew from two to three to four.

Samuel Laevell was a Salchert for a little more than two weeks before he died. But through the gifts of hundreds of strangers, families and friends from all over the country, his memory is going to provide comfort to a lot of other kiddos in need very soon.

Charity Salchert with her adoptive brother Samuel in his final days.(Photo: Tamera Salchert)

'T Bear' will help others

Samuel died on Tuesday, Oct. 16, and his funeral was Sunday, Oct. 21. His casket was carried by his biological brothers, his adopted brothers and his firefighter brothers. He was loved by so many and it overflowed on that day, Cori said.

But the story of the gentle child who changed the life of the Salcherts doesn't end here.

Nicknamed "T Bear" by his adoptive father Mark, the Salcherts wanted to honor him even more. In lieu of flowers at the funeral, they asked that guests bring a bear that would be donated to the local fire department and emergency response teams. They then opened it up to people around the country via social media.

They got so many more than anyone anticipated.

Bears are still coming in, but in one week since his death, Cori said the family had received around 500 bears.

When a child is present during an emergency situation, fire departments, police, Orange Cross and others give them a bear to help calm them and provide a sense of security and safety.

"Whether they know him or not, they have a piece of him [Samuel]," Cori said of the children who would one day get the bears.

'T Bear' becomes a Salchert

Cori and her husband Mark first met Laevell, later named Samuel, almost two years ago when he was 13. He was in the hospital as a result of a terminal genetic brain disease and his biological family could no longer care for him.

"His first 13 years of life he was an absolute wild child," Cori said of Samuel. But around his 13th birthday, Samuel became bedridden and could no longer speak or care for himself.

"I thought, 'I'm a baby hospice mom,'" she and her husband Mark discussed.

Cori and her family were first profiled in January 2016 by USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin when they adopted a terminally ill baby named Charlie. They didn't know how long he was going to live, but they welcomed him anyway.

Samuel and his adoptive brothers in the Salchert home.(Photo: Tamera Salchert/Charity Salchert)

Samuel Laevell Salchert with his adoptive sisters on his final days. The Salcherts have eight biological children and two adopted children, including Samuel.(Photo: Tamera Salchert/Charity Salchert)

Before that, the family adopted a baby girl named Emmalynn who lived for 50 days.

Charlie is now 4-1/2 years old and is expected to live for quite some time with his terminal illness.

However, Cori and Mark didn't think the fact that Samuel was a teenager was enough of a reason to leave the sweet boy who would shyly smile every so often alone in the hospital.

While his biological family loved him, Samuel now needed 24/7 care they couldn’t provide. Other foster families came in to see him and ultimately couldn't take him because of the intense nature of his care.

So, the Salcherts decided they wanted to offer Samuel a loving home where he could be surrounded by faith and others who only wanted to ease his pain.

They took him home and began the process of trying to adopt him. Meantime, the family got accustomed to Samuel and his needs.

They even got him his own nickname.

"I had come home from the hospital a couple years ago. I told Mark 'He looks like a little chocolate teddy bear,'" Cori said of the early days of having Samuel in their home. "And he's like, 'He's 13. He needs a guy name. We're not gonna call him teddy bear.' He says 'T Bear' is fine.'"

So then he became T Bear. But Cori still invokes mamma privileges and calls him Teddy Bear.

"At one point, honestly, I thought, I should have called him 'K Cat' or something because this kid had nine lives," she said of Samuel's strength. "I was told given his medical condition he won't live through this and he won't live through that. And he did and he did and he did. He was so resilient."

On Sept. 28, Cori's 53rd birthday, Laevell was formally adopted by the Salcherts and became Samuel Laevell Salchert.

Cori said the family chose the name Samuel because it means "For this child I prayed. God has heard my prayers."

The judge who oversaw the adoption went to the Salchert home to make it official and Samuel, despite his body slowly failing him, smiled that megawatt smile Cori loved so much.

Firefighters from the area came and stood beside their honorary brother as he became a Salchert.

The Salcherts are close to the neighboring departments because they've had to utilize them often because of the nature of caring for kids who often have medical emergencies.

The Sheboygan Fire Department had also made Samuel an honorary firefighter to show their support of him and his journey.

So, surrounded by friends and supporters, on a quiet September day, Samuel found his forever home.

Always a Salchert

For two weeks, the Salcherts cared for their new son. For two weeks, his adopted siblings cuddled and nurtured Samuel as he was reaching the end of his days.

On Tuesday, Oct. 16, Cori knew something was off and things were not looking good. She'd been a hospice and bereavement nurse before adopting any children, so she knew the signs.

"He was gulping more than he was actually able to breath," she said.

Silent tears fell from her eyes as she spoke of her son's last day.

"It was a really remarkable change as of 7:30 that morning," she said of that Tuesday. "I sent a text to the pastors at the office and asked if they could come and they're like 'Well, we're just heading into a staff meeting right now.'"

Not wanting to inconvenience the pastors from her church, she told them it was fine and she understood. They asked her what was the matter, though.

"I said 'He's dying.' And they said, 'Well that's a little more important than 'come over and have a cup of coffee,'" she said.

Within 15 minutes, three pastors showed up at the Salchert home on the north side of Sheboygan. Other hospice caregivers came and some of Samuel's adopted siblings stood around as he labored to breathe.

Cori said there is nothing like the pain of watching one's child struggle and found herself just crying and praying to God to end his suffering. She turned to her faith and listened to a sermon by Tim Keller that helped ease her mind and reminded her that Samuel's journey would not end here on Earth.

Finally, in the late afternoon, Samuel's battle was over.

"As soon as my buddy took his last breath at 4 o'clock, he couldn't remember any of that struggle," she said through tears. "For me, it is helpful to keep that in mind that he is not still struggling. And that he has no recollection of that."

T Bears for Samuel

If you would like to donate a teddy bear in honor of T Bear, there is an Amazon wish list to select from, or you can send them to Cori's office at Jake's Café, 529 Ontario Ave. in Sheboygan. All the bears will be donated to the local emergency response teams in Sheboygan where T Bear spent his final days.